Joe Biden, the Democrat Party’s front-runner for the presidential nomination, withstood a series of attacks from his rivals over his memory and Barack Obama’s legacy in the latest televised debate.
Julian Castro, the secretary of housing and urban development under Mr Obama, accused Mr Biden of contradicting himself when discussing his healthcare plans, saying: "Are you forgetting what you said two minutes ago?"
The comment drew attention given Mr Biden’s age – he would be 78 on day one of office, the oldest US president ever elected – has been a talking point in the campaign. The back-and-forth that followed was one of the most lively clashes of the night.
At another point Kamala Harris, the California senator, pushed back on Mr Biden’s scepticism of her gun reform proposals: "I would just say: Hey Jo, instead of saying ‘no we can’t’, say ‘yes we can’."
That referenced the famous slogan from the successful 2008 campaign of Mr Obama, who Mr Biden served alongside for eight years as vice president.
In another telling moment, Mr Castro clashed with Mr Biden over healthcare, telling him: "I am fulfilling the legacy of Barack Obama and you are not." The latter shot back: "That will be a surprise to him."
"He wants to take credit for Obama’s work but not have to answer any questions. I don’t get that," Mr Castro said. Again Mr Biden pushed back: "I stand with Barack Obama, all eight years – good, bad and indifferent."
Mr Obama still holds huge sway over Democrat voters but has yet to endorse a candidate.
Despite the attacks and Mr Biden fumbling his words at times, he was judged by many to have survived and dominated the debate at times, speaking more than any other candidate.
The third campaign debate, which saw the number of candidates given airtime halved from 20 to 10, was much anticipated because it was the first time Mr Biden would square off against Elizabeth Warren, who has been rapidly rising in the polls.
The nomination is largely seen as a three-horse race now with Bernie Sanders also polling well.
Mr Biden used Thursday’s debate to attack the healthcare plans of his Left-wing rivals Ms Warren and Mr Sanders, accusing them of lacking "honesty" over how they would cover the multi-trillion dollar cost.
Mr Biden singled out Mr Sanders and Ms Warren during a debate in Houston, Texas, triggering a series of heated exchanges.
Mr Biden zoned in on the estimated $30 trillion it will cost to give all Americans a government-funded healthcare plan, pushing his rivals to explain where they would get the money.
In turn he was accused of having a plan that would leave 10 million people uninsured and force scores more into bankruptcy by not addressing the current system’s exorbitant costs.
The clashes underscored how healthcare is becoming one of the most significant policy divides between Mr Biden, who is the favourite to win the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination, and Ms Warren and Mr Sanders, who are tied second in polling.
On the night there was no campaign-ending trip-up or standout winner. Much attention fell on how Mr Biden handled his two leading rivals.
Within minutes of the debate’s start, Mr Biden had rounded on Ms Warren’s support for Mr Sanders’ ‘Medicare for All’ plan, which would effectively force most Americans to give up their private health insurance and take up a government plan instead.
"I know the senator says she’s for Bernie. Well, I’m for Barack," said Mr Biden.
His plan is to offer a "public option", which allows Americans to opt into a government-funded healthcare plan but, crucially, keep their private insurance if wanted. It was a policy Mr Obama wanted to implement in office.
"This is about candour, honesty", Mr Biden went on, claiming that Ms Warren’s wealth tax – a 2 per cent tax on individuals with a net worth above $50 million – would not be enough to cover the costs. "I don’t like it," he said of her healthcare plan.
Ms Warren pushed back hard in response: "I’ve actually never met anybody who likes their health insurance company. I’ve met people. … What they want is access to healthcare."
She was joined by Mr Sanders, who begun by saying "let’s be clear Joe" before launching into a defence of his plans, arguing that Americans would actually save money in lower costs for proscription drugs and other healthcare payments.
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At one point Mr Biden challenged Mr Sanders over his belief that companies would lower healthcare costs after talks with unions, saying: "For a socialist, you got a lot more confidence in corporate America than I do."
The clash was emblematic of the fundamental division in the race – whether Democrats want an ‘evolution’ candidate best placed to defeat Mr Trump, as Mr Biden has framed his campaign, or a ‘revolution’ candidate who will shift American society and its economy fundamentally Left, as Mr Sanders and Ms Warren propose.
Away from the three leading candidates, there were other notable moments as those politicians whose nationwide poll results remain in the single digits sought to break through a crowded field.
Beto O’Rourke, the former Texas congressman who soared to fame when narrowly losing to Ted Cruz in a race for the Senate, delivered a string of punchy lines as he looked to reignite a struggling campaign.
During a section about race relations, Mr O’Rourke said of Mr Trump: "We have a white supremacist in the White House and he poses a mortal threat to people of colour in this country."
And on gun violence, an issue close to Mr O’Rourke’s heart after his Texan home town, El Paso, suffered a mass shooting that killed 22 last month, the former congressman proposed a mass buyback of guns.
Asked if he wanted to force Americans to hand in their guns, Mr O’Rourke said yes, if they are the type designed for use on the battlefield. He added, to cheers from the audience: "Hell, yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47."
Andrew Yang, the entrepreneur who is polling sixth despite having never held public office, revealed an announcement that his team had heavily trailed before the debate, saying he would do something no other presidential candidate had ever done.
He said that 10 American families would be given $1000 a month for the whole year by his campaign – a gimmick designed to force attention onto his signature policy, giving all adult Americans that amount if he won office.
The announcement was greeted with laughter by at least one fellow candidate. Another, Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who was speaking next, paused for a moment before joking: "It’s original, I’ll give you that."
The biggest laugh of the night came when Ms Harris took aim at Mr Trump’s tweets, which are often packed with challenges and warnings to the Chinese over their trade war.
“On trade policy, he reminds me of that guy in ‘The Wizard of Oz’," Ms Harris said, adding: "When you pull back the curtain, it’s a really small dude."
Voting for the Democratic presidential nominee will begin in February 2020 and run through to June. The winner will take on Mr Trump at the November 2020 presidential election.